ACRL national conference Elizabeth Mengel Introducing Baltimore Host of the 13th ACRL National Conference “Sailing into the Future: Charting Our Destiny,” March 29–April 1, 2007

altimore is a constantly evolving city with History Ba rich history. It is a city of neighborhoods In 1632 George Calvert, the first Lord and neighborhood institutions, a unique Baltimore, was granted land north of the blend of blue collar and academic high tech, Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore County, the fi rst of traditional attractions and local funk. The local government, was established in 1659. city offers conference attendees a wide ar­ Baltimore City was established December ray of activities from world­class art, music, 31, 1796. libraries, and exciting sporting events to Water was critical to the economic devel­ simply sitting on the waterfront picking crabs opment of the city. Settlers built mills and and sipping iron furnaces cocktails. along the The city many small fans out waterways in mostly north the area. Like of the In­ the other ear­ ner Harbor, ly colonists, which is a Marylanders major tour­ chafed under ist draw. Di­ British rule rectly north and were in of the har­ the thick of bor lies the the conflict main busi­ during the ness area. A A view of the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Credit: Baltimore Area Revolution­ bit further Convention and Visitors Association. ary War. For north of the example, business district is Mount Vernon, the cultural shortly after the Declaration of Indepen­ center of the city. West of the Inner Harbor dence was signed, Baltimore became the is the Convention Center and Oriole Park at nation’s temporary capital from December Camden Yards. 20, 1776 to February 27, 1777. The business To help you get your bearings, remem­ of the country was handled in Baltimore’s ber that Charles Street divides the city Congress Hall. east to west. It is the major north­south At the beginning of the 1800s, Baltimore thoroughfare of the city, stretching from was the nation’s third­largest city. The War the harbor to the city­county line. If an ad­ dress reads “East” it will be east of Charles Elizabeth Mengel is head of collection management Street, “West” addresses will be west of at Johns Hopkins University, e-mail: [email protected] Charles Street. © 2006 Elizabeth Mengel

September 2006 493 C&RL News of 1812 found Baltimore in the middle of as one of the divisions of the Johns Hopkins the action again. Privateers out of Baltimore University, the Peabody Institute comprises led water attacks on British ships. When the the Conservatory and Preparatory divisions. British attacked Washington, D.C., on August The George Peabody Library (the scholar’s 28, 1814, Baltimore residents could see the library) is part of the Johns Hopkins Librar­ smoke billowing from the city. Knowing they ies. Peabody’s gift inspired his friend Johns would be the next target, the city fortifi ed Hopkins to donate $7 million for the creation Fort McHenry. of a university and hospital, which today On September 12, 1814, the Battle of bear his name. The city’s third signifi cant Baltimore Harbor began. Situated on a boat philanthropist, Enoch Pratt, offered a gift to up river, Francis Scott Key watched as the the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore of a British bombs attacked Fort McHenry. As the central library, four branch libraries, and an smoke cleared and the foggy dawn emerged, endowment of $1 million. Today, the library Key spotted a tattered American fl ag still system has 21 branches. flying over the fort. The “Star­Spangled During the early morning hours of Febru­ Banner,” his emotional poem commemo­ ary 7, 1904, the Great Fire of Baltimore broke rating that sight, eventually became our out. The blaze caused millions of dollars national anthem. That flag still resides at worth of damage and destroyed more than Fort McHenry. 70 blocks of prime downtown real estate, The next big boom to the city’s economy but miraculously took no lives. The fi re was the development of the Baltimore & burned for more than 30 hours before it Ohio (B&O) Railroad. Developed by Charles was finally contained. The city rebuilt itself Carroll, the railroad reached the Ohio River and, by the time of World War I, Baltimore’s in 1853. The railroad not only brought goods protected harbor provided an ideal center and services to Baltimore, it also brought for wartime industries. The city’s popula­ waves of immigrants to the city. You can tion continued to grow between the wars still see some of the original tracks from as many immigrants looked for work in the the B&O along Key Highway, south of the steel factories and shipyards. World War II Convention Center. saw Baltimore again provide many of the Those who know their geography know materials for battle, especially steel for ships that Maryland is located south of the Mason and airplanes. Dixon line. The city was divided fi nancially Urban revitalization, which began in and philosophically between north and the 1970s, culminated in the opening of south. By 1860, Baltimore City was home Harborplace in 1980, followed by the to more freed blacks than any other city in opening of the National Aquarium. Today, the state. The state’s song “My Maryland” redevelopment continues to spread from the depicts a skirmish between citizens of Bal­ Inner Harbor, including the development of timore and the 6th Massachusetts Infantry Harbor East, the opening of the Reginald F. as it passed through the city. The skirmish Lewis Museum of Maryland African Ameri­ resulted in riots and the first casualties of can History and Culture, the renovation and the Civil War on April 19, 1861. Baltimore opening of the Hippodrome Theater, and was occupied by federal troops for much much more. of the Civil War. After the war, three acts of great philan­ Baltimore firsts and famous residents thropy deeply changed the city. George Pea­ Baltimore is a city of many firsts. In 1774 the body gave $1.5 million to the city to establish first post office system in the United States the Peabody Institute, which was to include was inaugurated. In 1800 the fi rst investment a scholar’s library, a public lecture series, an house was started. Fort McHenry was the academy of music, and an art gallery. Today site of the first U.S. Army horse artillery. The

C&RL News September 2006 494 Washington Monument in Mt. Vernon was the first monument to George Washington. The first Catholic Basilica in the United States was built in Baltimore. Designed by Benjamin Latrobe, it recently underwent a total refurbishment. Baltimore was the home of the first publicly supported high school for girls. In 1851 the first commercial ice cream factory was established. The Balti­ more Symphony is the first city municipal symphony in the United States. Baltimore is also home to the country’s fi rst scheduled water taxi system. Baltimore lists some impressive fi rsts in medical care, too—in 1894 Johns Hopkins surgeon William Halsted was the fi rst to wear rubber gloves in surgery, in 1942 Johns Hopkins Hospital was the first to identify the Polio virus. In 1955 Johns Hopkins estab­ lished the first intensive care unit. In 1961 The Washington Monument. Credit: Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors the first shock trauma unit was developed Association. at University of Maryland Hospital. In fact, the concept of the “golden hour,” which is lege; Loyola University­Maryland; Morgan the timeframe that increases the chances State University; St. Mary’s Seminary and of a person who suffered life­threatening University; Coppin State College; Towson or catastrophic injury of surviving, was de­ University; University of Baltimore; the law veloped by the University of Maryland’s R. and medical schools at the University of Adams Cowley in 1970. Maryland­Baltimore; University of Maryland­ Many famous folk have called Baltimore Baltimore County; Maryland Institute College home, including film makers Barry Levin­ of Art (the oldest accredited art school in the son and John Waters; actors Divine, David country); and Villa Julie College. Hasselhoff, John Astin, Parker Posey, and Jada Pinkett Smith; musicians Frank Zappa, Neighborhoods Billie Holiday, Cab Calloway, Eubie Blake, Baltimore is a city of neighborhoods. Neigh­ Ric Ocasek, Philip Glass, and “Mama” Cass borhoods close to the Inner Harbor are Little Elliot; barrier breakers Thurgood Marshall, Italy, Fells Point, Federal Hill, and Mount Reginald F. Lewis, Kweisi Mfume, and Vivien Vernon. You may even wander as far as Thomas; athletes Michael Phelps, Babe Ruth, Canton, which can be reached by walking Pam Shriver, Cal Ripken Jr., Johnny Unitas, along the Harbor. and Carmelo Anthony; writers Tom Clancy, Little Italy, just east of the Inner Harbor, Anne Tyler, Edgar Allan Poe, and many is the center of Baltimore’s Italian popula­ more. In a future issue of C&RL News, we’ll tion and is also home to many restaurants introduce you to some of the great literary and gelaterias. Fells Point (just beyond Little figures of Baltimore. Italy) established in colonial times, has many Known for the Johns Hopkins institutions, pubs and dining establishments, making Baltimore has many other educational insti­ for a lively night life. The popular televi­ tutions, large and small. The list of higher sion show Homicide: Life on the Streets was education institutions includes: the College filmed on location on the streets and in the of Notre Dame of Maryland; Goucher Col­ businesses of Fells Point.

September 2006 495 C&RL News Federal Hill is located just southwest of small museums in Baltimore worth seeking the Inner Harbor. The hill is easily seen from out. The B&O Railroad Museum is a railroad the Harbor. During the Civil War, cannons buff’s paradise, but for those who aren’t in­ were stationed here facing the city, remind­ terested in the largest railroad collection in ing the inhabitants to behave. Federal Hill the Western Hemisphere, the newly restored is home to the American Visionary Arts Mu­ round house is beautiful to behold for its seum, a fascinating collection of outsider art structural grace. and one of the country’s top museums. Evergreen House on North Charles Street Going further afield, near the Johns Hop­ is listed on the National Register of Historic kins University campus are several attrac­ Places. Once home to John W. Garrett, presi­ tions not to be missed. The neighborhood dent of the B&O Railroad, the house offers of Hampden, to the west of the campus, art, history, and natural beauty in its lovely is home to some of the funkiest shopping 26­acre wooded location. Homewood House, in Baltimore. The Baltimore Museum of located on the Johns Hopkins campus adja­ Art, which includes the trendy restaurant cent to the Eisenhower Library, was built in Gertrude’s, can be found on the south end of 1801 for Charles Carroll Jr. Homewood House the campus. And if the tulips are blooming, a is a National Historic Landmark and is one trip to the nearby Sherwood Gardens in the of the nation’s best surviving examples of stately residential neighborhood of Roland federal period architecture. Park is a must. The Fire Museum of Maryland gives visi­ tors a chance to see how fires are fought, Attractions including how the great fire of 1904 was Within walking distance of the Inner Har­ contained. The National Museum of Den­ bor, check out the National Aquarium, the tistry celebrates the nation’s fi rst dental Visionary Arts Museum, the Maryland Sci­ school. The school opened on the Baltimore ence Center, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum campus of the University of Maryland in of Maryland African American History and 1839. The Maryland Historical Society in Culture, and the Revolutionary War frigate Mt. Vernon area has the original draft of the the USS Constellation. “Star­Spangled Banner.” The Eubie Blake Not too far from the Inner Harbor are a National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center number of old time markets that are worth teaches visitors about Baltimore’s great jazz investigating. Lexington Market is the world’s legacy. The Babe Ruth Museum, the Museum largest, continuously running open stall of Industry, the Public Works Museum, the food market. It has operated since 1782 at Baltimore Civil War Museum, and the Balti­ the same location. The Cross Street Market more Street Car Museum are all wonderful in Federal Hill and the Broadway Market in places to explore. Fells Point are within walking distance of the Convention Center and will give you a Sports feel of yesteryear. Baltimore is the home of Major League The cultural district of Mount Vernon, Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles. They roost in easily identified by the towering Washington Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Try to take in Monument, will keep you busy for a day. a tour of the park and learn about the ware­ Visit the Washington Monument, the Walter’s house, which is the longest brick building Art Museum, the George Peabody Library, the east of the Mississippi River and now houses Maryland Historical Society, and the Enoch the Orioles’ business offi ces. Pratt Free Library. The National Football League’s Baltimore In addition to the Walter’s Museum, the Ravens were winners of Super Bowl XXXV Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Visionary in 2001. Older NFL fans may remember the Arts Museums, there are a number of great Baltimore Colts led by the great Johnny Uni­

C&RL News September 2006 496 tas, that team left the city for Indianapolis in on Baltimore, including its literary history, 1984. The Ravens name honors the classic libraries and special collections, attractions, Edgar Allan Poe poem. The team plays at and shopping and dining. Come see why M&T Bank Stadium just south of Camden more than 11 million visitors every year call Yards. Baltimore “Charm City.” Horses and horse racing are part of the city’s long history. The Maryland Jockey References club was established in 1743, well before Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors the United States was even a nation. Horse Association. Baltimore History. in Baltimore racing fans turn their eyes to Baltimore in Area Convention and Visitors Association May each year for the Preakness, the second [database online]. Baltimore, MD, 2006 [cited jewel in horse racing’s Triple Crown. The 2/15/2006 2006]. Available at www.baltimore. Preakness is a week­long event culminating org/. with the big race run at Pimlico Racetrack Colberty, J. 2001. Maryland and Delaware in northern Baltimore. Famous horses cross­ Off the Beaten Path. 5th ed. ed. Guilford, CT: ing the finish line at Pimlico were Man o’ The Lobe Pequot Press. War, Seabiscuit, War Admiral, Citation, and Coursey, D. H., and Coursey, M. 2000. Secretariat. Frommer’s Maryland and Delaware, 4th ed. In many places spring turns people’s ed. Chicago: IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. thoughts toward romance, but in Baltimore Cross, K. 2006. Feel Like a Local. Southern spring means one thing—lacrosse, America’s Living, January, 21. oldest sport. This fast­paced, hard­hitting Graham, B., and Lambert, L. C. 1999. The game is played by boys, girls, men, and Insiders Guide to Baltimore. Helena MT: women at all levels. The sport has strength Falcon Publishing Inc. in Baltimore at the college and professional level. The Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame is located just north of Johns Hopkins University’s lacrosse field. The museum celebrates the history and heritage of the game. The Johns Hopkins University Men’s Lacrosse team are eight­time NCAA Division I champions.

Visiting Baltimore in 2007 Make your plans now to attend the ACRL National Conference. Set aside a few extra days to explore Baltimore and the Chesa­ peake Bay area, including Annapolis—home of the U.S. Naval Academy. Baltimore is also close to many other east coast attractions in cities, such as Washington, D.C., Philadel­ phia, and New York City. If you’re a history buff, Baltimore is close to numerous Civil War memorials and battlefi elds, including Gettysburg and Antietam. Into hiking? You can jump on the Appalachian Trail near Frederick, Maryland. Future issues of C&RL News will provide conference attendees with more information

September 2006 497 C&RL News